Slowing to a Crawl

The political fight over deficits is pointless unless Washington confronts a bigger threat: the coming decline in economic growth.

Within a few weeks congressional Republicans and Democrats will again square off over how much the U.S. government should tax and spend, possibly for years to come if a "Grand Bargain" is ever reached. But looming over this debate is a stark reality that many politicians and their constituents are unaware of. U.S. economic growth figures to slow dramatically over the next 20 years or so, generating far less money to achieve the Republican goal of a balanced budget or the Democratic aim of continued social spending.